


Explore

by 10Blue10



Series: Ex [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Low-Key Smut, interpret it however you want, non-sexual nudity, platonic physical intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15982289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10Blue10/pseuds/10Blue10
Summary: Toothless cannot sleep. Their enemies are defeated and their friends know of the bond he now shares with Hiccup, but a lingering desire keeps the dragon awake. There is one tradition of becoming a heart bound pair that he has not told Hiccup about, but what happens when he does, and Hiccup agrees to try it?





	Explore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarahenany](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahenany/gifts), [Thursday26](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday26/gifts).



> A/N: Written for sarahenany and Thursday26 ;) I know this is very different from my usual fare, but that’s what the tags are for.

He and Hiccup had gone to bed, but Toothless couldn’t sleep. He should have been at peace; Hauke was gone, could never hurt his other half again; Stoick, Gobber and Astrid, the three humans Hiccup was closest to, knew about the heart bind and had accepted it, more or less. Everything was fine, and yet he felt so nervous.

It hadn’t occurred to him at first. When the idea was presented, he’d been tempted, but he’d brushed it off. Hiccup was still injured, weakened; it wasn’t the right time. Then his excuse had been that Hiccup’s mind would be on other things. Now, the temptation was still there, and the only thing holding him back was that Hiccup was human. 

Humans were far more fragile than dragons. Toothless knew that all of the dragons and their riders were as close, in their own ways, as he and Hiccup...but they were the only ones who could be this close. Not just because they were the only ones who were heart bound. Humans had very different taboos when it came to intimacy, Toothless realised. 

He really shouldn’t be thinking about it. They could live without it; they already knew so much about each other, it wasn’t necessary, and yet...Of course, Toothless’ wakefulness trickled through their bond to Hiccup, who fidgeted in bed for a while before finally giving in and sitting up. “Toothless” he hissed, hair sticking up all over the place. 

The dragon winced. How selfish was he, to keep his best friend from sleep? Curling up tighter, he whimpered *Sorry* and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. It didn’t work, of course. “Buddy”, he heard Hiccup whisper, and peeked out from under his tail-fin. Hiccup beckoned to him. Unwilling to upset him more, Toothless slunk over, head low. 

As soon as he was within reach, Hiccup stroked his head, and Toothless leaned into the touch with a sigh. “What’s wrong?” his human murmured. “Something’s upset you, and when you’re upset, I’m upset.” That was more true now than ever. “So tell me what’s wrong, so I can help and we can both go back to sleep” he yawned. 

Toothless squirmed. It shouldn’t be this hard to tell Hiccup something. He knew that he could tell his human anything, but he’d never been able to actually talk to Hiccup before two months ago. It was still taking some getting used to. He didn’t want to keep Hiccup awake, though, so he gathered his courage and tried to explain, but not alarm the man.

*You’ll think it’s weird* he warned, *And if I tell you...we don’t have to, if you don’t want to. We can stop any time you want, just say the word and I’ll...* Suddenly, Toothless’ ear-flaps pricked. Before Hiccup could say anything, he’d slipped like a living shadow over to the door and pressed his ear up against it. A few moments later, he slumped in relief. 

“Bud?” 

*Your sire...I mean, dad is asleep. I can hear him snoring. Not that it matters, because we’re not - but if we were, and he came in, he wouldn’t be happy, and I - I don’t want him to be mad at you again...* 

“Toothless, please. Just tell me what’s wrong. If we were what?” Hiccup prompted. Toothless whined uneasily, shuffling his paws. The young man sighed. “Okay...you obviously think whatever this is will upset me, but I won’t know that unless you tell me. I promise I won’t be mad.” He tried for a reassuring, encouraging smile. 

*When we were talking to Misty-Onyx, about what it was like to be heart bound...I don’t know if you remember, but they mentioned something they did after heart binding...exploring each other?* Toothless began, hesitant. He isn’t sure how much of the conversation Hiccup recalled; the man had been a bit distracted at the time. 

Hiccup frowned. “I think I remember...but I just thought it was a euphemism, or something. I mean, they’re... mates...” - his thoughts took a sudden nosedive. Toothless’ hesitation, the fretting assurances that they could stop anytime, checking his father was asleep in case Stoick came in and saw - “You - us?!” Hiccup spluttered, gesturing awkwardly. 

He couldn’t get the words out, but Toothless got the gist. The Night Fury recoiled. *No!* he hissed, *No, never! I would never, ever want to...do _that_ with you. No offence, but you’re not my sort. Don’t start* he growled warningly, when Hiccup opened his mouth to make some smart comment about his ‘sort’. 

“I was gonna say I prefer blondes” Hiccup deadpanned. “I still don’t get what’s going on” he added. By now even Toothless was tired of beating around the bush (an expression humans used, he’d never been sure what it meant until Hiccup explained), so he took a deep breath and decided to just come right out and say it. 

*Newly heart bound pairs often explore each other...each other’s bodies, and minds. It builds trust, strengthens the bond; it does lead to mating, normally, but that’s only because most heart bound dragons are already mates. It doesn’t have to...go that far.* Toothless gazed at Hiccup earnestly. *You were hurt, so I didn’t...but I thought about it.* 

“About...exploring me?” Hiccup asked, wishing he didn’t sound so nervous. “Why...why were you scared to tell me this?”

*You’re human* Toothless said, as if it explained everything. *It’s different, for dragons. I was afraid you’d be uncomfortable, that you’d think it was...too close. Going too far.* 

“Too close?” Hiccup repeated incredulously. “We have a bit of each other’s blood in our veins. I don’t think you can get much closer, or go much further, than that” he pointed out, half-jokingly. Toothless whimpered uneasily and shook his head. *You don’t understand. I’d want to explore you...not...* He gently tugged on Hiccup’s nightclothes. 

Hiccup swallowed. He understood now, and this wasn’t what he’d expected at all. Toothless mistook his hesitation for rejection and had to bite back a disappointed moan. Maybe... *It doesn’t matter* he said quickly, *Tell you what, you can explore me instead. I don’t wear clothes, and I know how much you love exploring...* The joke fell flat. 

Gradually, Hiccup’s expression morphed from one of dawning shock to nervous determination. “Okay...” he breathed out, and then more surely, “Okay. Let’s explore.” Toothless drew back with a squeaky grunt of surprise. Hiccup smiled at him. “I trust you. You’d never hurt me. Here...” He pushed the furs aside and said, “Help me over to the door.”

Toothless supported him as he limped over and pulled the latch across. “There. Now no-one can come in and disturb us” he whispered. Toothless stared in amazement. He’d seen the little bit of metal on Hiccup’s door a thousand times, but never understood its purpose. So, making the little stick go that way kept the door closed? Fascinating. 

Hiccup followed his gaze and gave a fond, amused smile. He loved how the simplest things that he took for granted, like a basic latch, could intrigue the dragon. “Hey, Midgard to Toothless. You still in there?” he teased, waving a hand in front of his friends face. Toothless blinked. “I’ll show you how it works later” Hiccup promised. 

His dragon helped him back to bed. He sat in the middle of it and pulled off his vest and, after a moment’s hesitation, the rest of his nightclothes. Sitting there naked, with his prosthetic out of reach, Hiccup felt uniquely vulnerable. Toothless could do anything to him like this. His skin tingled with anticipation.

Ever protective, Toothless curved his wings around Hiccup, to give him some semblance of privacy and block out the draft. The dragon was sitting on his haunches at the edge of the bed, front paws resting on the furs, claws just an inch away from Hiccup’s bare skin. He sat there and gazed down at Hiccup, not judging, just looking. 

Licking his lips to wet them, Hiccup asked quietly, “What do you need me to do?” Toothless crooned _comfort_ and replied, *Just relax*, giving him a reassuring nuzzle. He drank in every feature of Hiccup’s face, all the little brown dots on his nose, and the tiny white scar on his chin. Now, at last, he could satisfy his curiosity about all of it.

*Your snout is all speckled* he remarked, purring _amusement_ mixed with a curious croon. Hiccup was lost in his other half’s wide, loving, lime green eyes...it took a few moments for him to realise Toothless was talking to him. “F-freckles” he murmured, “They’re called freckles. The little dots. Lots of people have them.”

*What are they for?* Toothless wondered, *Do they help you attract females? Or are they a warning to predators, that you’re bad to eat? If they are, then they’re not very good at it* he noted. Hiccup snickered a bit. “My freckles aren’t - they’re not for anything. They’re just there. Although, Astrid did say she thinks they’re cute, so...”

*So they did help you attract a female* Toothless said smugly. Hiccup scoffed and put his nose in the air. “Oh, please. It wasn’t that which attracted her, it was my incredible riding skills and sheer raw Viking-ness” he joked, flexing his muscles. Sure, it barely made a difference, but at least he had muscles to flex!

Toothless gave him that half lidded gaze with one eye squinted and the other not. It looked as if the dragon was raising a nonexistent eyebrow. He’d probably gotten the expression from Hiccup himself. The young man shrugged. “Hey, a guy can dream.” He smirked and couldn’t resist adding, “At least I have a girlfriend.” 

Toothless licked his face for that. *These freckles must be for something* he insisted. *Are they to help tell you apart from other humans, like my scutes?*

Hiccup blinked. “Maybe? These are your...scutes, right?” he asked, reaching up towards the larger scales on Toothless’ face. He paused, hesitating. Toothless moved his head to brush Hiccup’s fingertips over his scutes, crooning reassuringly. *It’s okay. You can explore me too, I don’t mind. I’m yours* he promised his other half.

Hiccup gasped. He’d known, even before they heart bound, that Toothless adored him. That there was nothing his dragon wouldn’t do for him, and likewise, nothing he wouldn’t do for his dragon. Yet this went beyond anything he’d ever imagined. Toothless had always been more than just a dragon; now, he was more than just a friend. 

“F-feeling’s mutual” he breathed shyly. Gently, but with more sureness, he caressed Toothless’ head, tracing his fingers over the dragons scutes and committing their patterns to memory, his other hand fondling the dragon’s ear-flaps and fleshy spines. Purring in approval, Toothless lowered his head to continue his own exploration and let Hiccup reach. 

Hiccup’s musk smelled stronger under his arm, where a little tuft of fur was growing. He squirmed when Toothless sniffed curiously at his armpit, mumbling something about being ticklish. Just below his heart, between his ribs, there was the scar of the wound that had led them to heart bind. Toothless laved it tenderly, and felt Hiccup tremble.

The dragon gave the same attention to all of Hiccup’s scars. He recognised a lot of them; the oldest ones, from way back when he’d come to Toothless in the cove, stung by blows and harsh words alike. Scars from battles, from crashes, from play-fights gone too far. His chest only carried a few, the rest scattered across his slight body.

Toothless sniffed curiously at one of two dark pink circles on either side of Hiccup’s chest, with tiny buds in the middle. *What are these?* he asked, licking one. It didn’t taste any different to the rest of him, but Hiccup flinched and pushed his snout aside. “Don’t! They’re um, they’re sensitive” he explained, crossing his arms protectively over his chest, face turning red.

Toothless felt bad for spooking him, so he nuzzled Hiccup until the young man relaxed again. *Sorry. But what are they? Are they for mating?* he wondered. Hiccup did say they were sensitive. 

“Aaah....they’re called nipples” Hiccup said, blushing, “and um...on women they’re for feeding babies, but on men they’re not really for anything. They’re just...there.” 

The dragon gave an amused huff. *First it was your ‘freckles’, now these ‘nipples’. Do human bodies have a lot of things that aren’t for anything?* he asked, as if the idea was ludicrous. Hiccup shrugged. “I s’pose. But dragon bodies must have bits and pieces that aren’t for anything as well. Why does everything have to be for something?” 

*Well, because otherwise what’s the point? And dragon bodies are perfect. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t serve some good purpose* Toothless insisted, preening. Hiccup gave him a sly look. “What about your sweet spot?” he asked innocently, scratching the dragon under the chin and skirting said patch of scales. 

*That’s for...for...* Toothless paused, eyes narrowing. Why did he, or any dragon, have ‘sweet spots’? All it did was make him collapse, and that - that wasn’t good for defending himself, or flying, or getting food or attracting a mate or - or anything. He wouldn’t even know about that spot if it weren’t for Hiccup and his wonderful fingers!

The dragon was clearly having an existential crisis, but Hiccup couldn’t help giggling at the disconcerted expression on Toothless’ face. “Maybe”, he suggested with an impish grin, “the gods made you that way so that even fishbones like me had a chance of besting fierce and mighty dragons when we grappled with you.”

Toothless pouted. *It’s not funny* he whined, but Hiccup just kept sniggering. “Aww, buddy” he cooed, “it’s okay. Not everything has to be for something. It doesn’t make you any less perfect just the way you are. I can do a few useless things; watch this” he said, opening his mouth and rolling his tongue up. “Thee? Ith ‘unny, huh?”

Toothless purred, interested and amused. *I didn’t know you could do that. Let me try!* he warbled eagerly, trying to do the same thing. *Is it working?* he asked with his mouth open. He hadn’t really rolled his tongue, but he had curled the fleshy prongs up to touch each other. “Heh, kind of. It’s close enough. And no offence, but your breath reeks.”

Closing his jaw with an audible snap, Toothless mock-glared at Hiccup. He wasn’t really cross though; humans just couldn’t appreciate scents; and Hiccup’s soft nimble fingers scratching his itches made up for it. Toothless had an idea. Turning his head away, he prompted *Put your hands on my head-spines, but gently.*

Hiccup obeyed, and once he had, Toothless sent out a searching-roar, making his spines tremble beneath Hiccup’s palms. “Whoa!” he exclaimed, snatching his hands away in surprise, but immediately putting them back. “Do it again” he begged eagerly. Toothless obliged. “I can’t believe I never noticed that before” Hiccup murmured.

“How does it work? Why do your spines shake like that?” he inquired, rubbing his hands down the back of Toothless’ neck and over his shoulders, pressing at the knots in them. The dragon moaned in pleasure at the impromptu massage and half-slumped on the bed. *Up a bit...left a bit...on my wing joint...that’s better* he thrummed happily. 

Oh, right. He should probably answer Hiccup’s questions. *My searching-roar...it’s high. Too high for you to hear, but I can. It echoes back off whatever is in front of me, my head-spines sense it, and I can tell how far away the thing is, how big, even what it’s made of sometimes. It makes a sort of picture in my head. You can draw sounds; I can see them* Toothless explained.

“Wow...I thought it might be something to do with echoes. Nice to know I guessed right” Hiccup murmured, pleased. He continued giving Toothless a rub down, and the dragon just melted into a black scaly puddle of bliss, warbling in delight.

Hiccup felt sad, guilty, all of a sudden; Toothless pulled back to ask, *What’s wrong?* The human shook his head and kept tracing his fingers over a notch in Toothless’ wing, that the dragon barely remembered was there. “This is...” Hiccup swallowed hard, “This is from where I hit you with that bolas. When I shot you down.”

*Oh, that scar. Yes. It’s one of my favourites* Toothless declared. Hiccup gave him an odd look. “You have favourite scars?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Toothless crooned at him. *This is my favourite scar* he said, bringing his single tail-fin up to rest against Hiccup’s chest. *If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have you.*

Their bond pulsed with love. Hiccup pressed the fin against his heart with one hand, tracing the fingers of the other up and down the ridged scar with near reverent gentleness. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and met his other half’s warm, loving gaze. Toothless pressed his nose softly to Hiccup’s, crooning love you, sharing breath.

At last he pulled away. “I...I guess...” Hiccup began shakily, still a bit overwhelmed. Toothless drew in a deep breath, and nodded for Hiccup to do the same. Once he’d let it out, he felt better. “I guess that means this is my favourite scar, for the same reason” he remarked, wrapping a hand around the stump of his left leg. A flicker of guilt shot through him, and he frowned.

Toothless whined softly. *It’s not the same, is it? You’d still have me even if you hadn’t lost your foot. If I hadn’t...* His eyes on Hiccup’s leg were sad, and Hiccup felt the need to step in. “Hey, it’s alright”, he held Toothless’ face between his hands. “I don’t blame you. I never did. You saved my life; and besides, this makes us even. A foot for a fin.”

The dragon whimpered and shook his head slowly. *I wasn’t trying to make us even* he murmured, eyes still wide and mournful. *I would have saved all of you, if I could.* The admission touched something deep in Hiccup’s chest. He palmed Toothless’ cheek and told him earnestly, “I’d lose my leg all over again if it meant keeping you.”

Hiccup anticipated Toothless nuzzling and licking him for that confession, and laughed, nuzzling him right back. He meant every word; given the choice between having both legs intact, and having Toothless by his side, he’d choose his best friend every time. A stupid foot he could live without. His heart, he couldn’t.

Toothless pulled back, mouth stretched into a gummy smile. He turned fond eyes on Hiccup’s stump...then his soft gaze grew more curious, and he tilted his head. Hiccup peered down to see what had gotten the dragons attention, and only then remembered what they were doing. He’d drawn his knees up instinctively, covering himself. “Ah.”

A gentle paw pressed atop his knee. *It’s okay if you want to stop* Toothless crooned reassuringly, *You must be tired.* Hiccup didn’t think he could go back to sleep if he wanted to. Besides, they’d gone this far, and never let it be said that he, Hiccup Haddock the Third, started a challenge and didn’t finish it.

Slowly, without taking his eyes off Toothless’, he let himself be seen.  Toothless held his gaze a moment longer before looking down. The dragon’s eyes squinted and he tilted his head, looking perplexed. Hiccup swallowed nervously. He looked down at himself, just in case there was something wrong, but nothing looked amiss. 

At last, Toothless said something. *You humans grow fur in the oddest places* he remarked, with a sort of exasperated huff. 

“It’s hair” Hiccup corrected automatically. “Wait, that’s what...oh thank Thor”, he sighed in relief, “I thought you were gonna make some smart comment about it being small, or something.” 

*Well, I don’t know how big human members are supposed to be. _Is_ it small?* he asked, peering at it again. Hiccup gave an indignant squawk. “No! It’s a perfectly normal size, thank you very much” he grumbled, folding his arms and pouting. Or trying to, anyway.

Toothless looked from his face to his member and back again. *Mine’s bigger* he said bluntly. The corners of Hiccup’s mouth twitched, and then he burst out laughing. When he’d gotten his giggles under control, Hiccup smirked at the dragon. *Prove it* he challenged boldly. 

*Really?* Toothless asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow at him. Well, sort of. *You’re not...you don’t think this is weird?* 

“Are you kidding? Of course it’s weird. I’ve done a lot of weird stuff since meeting you. Doesn’t mean it’s bad” Hiccup shrugged. “Besides, I let you...it’s only fair. Unless you really don’t want to.” 

*It’s not that. I can’t just _show_ it to you. We dragons have everything important tucked away like sensible creatures* the Swift-Wing declared, snout in the air. Hiccup rolled his eyes. “We humans manage okay, you know” he retorted, although privately he agreed that dragons - and birds, he supposed - had gotten the better option there.

*I’ve no idea how. You sit in the saddle with _that_ between your legs- isn’t it horribly uncomfortable?* 

“I’m used to it! And stop changing the subject. You started it, mister ‘mine’s bigger’. Can’t you just, y’know, make it come out?” 

Toothless rolled his eyes this time. *It’s not that simple. I don’t need to mark my territory, as it were, and it’s not like I’m feeling the urge to-* He cut himself off quickly, but Hiccup’s curiosity was piqued. “Urge to what? Huh?” he pestered; though to judge by the grin on his face, he’d already guessed. “Our friends haven’t left Berk yet, have they? We could go find Selena and ask her to” - 

*No!* Toothless yelped urgently. Hiccup sniggered, earning a glare from his dragon. *Very funny. Moon and stars, give me strength* he groaned, looking skywards. *Alright. It’s only fair, like you said. There is one way I could show you...but you have to promise not to use what I tell you against me. No matter how mischievous you’re feeling.* 

Hiccup gave him an innocent smile that fooled neither of them. “I won’t use it against you. Cross my heart” he promised, doing just that. Feeling his sincerity through their bond, Toothless nodded. *Where my neck and shoulder meet, that’s where - I can’t believe I’m telling you this - where dragons bite each other during mating flights.* 

Hiccup knew what Toothless was talking about; he and the other riders had seen dragons mating from a distance a few times. It was incredible and rather nerve-wracking, seeing them chase each other to dizzying heights, press their bodies together and plummet earthwards, only separating at apparently the last minute.

“So, what, does biting get them ‘in the mood’, or something?”

*If a pair is flying to mate then they’re already ‘in the mood’. The biting does help, though. Or so I’ve gathered.*

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’ve never...done it? You’re a virgin?” he asked curiously.

Toothless raised an eyebrow. *So are you* he retorted, not unkindly. *What made you think I’ve flown to mate before?* he asked next.

Hiccup shrugged. “I dunno...you’re sixty, so I figured you’ve been around long enough to, you know, do adult stuff. But I guess if dragons live so long...how old are dragons when they can mate?”

*It depends on the kind of dragon. Our bodies grow faster than our minds; Swift-Wings are fully grown and ready to mate when we’re fifteen, but that doesn’t mean we’re old enough to know how to _be_ mates or raise kits or anything. I was probably too busy scouting new territories to bother about finding a mate, and then I got caught by _Her_ * Toothless explained, baring his fangs in distaste.

“I guess that makes sense. Uh, Toothless?” Hiccup said uncertainly, as a bizarre thought occurred to him. “If dragons fly to mate, and they fall together...well, we don’t hold onto each other, but we do the same thing, go really high and then fall together. Does that mean...when we do that, are we sort of...mating?” he wondered.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then... “*Nah!*” both of them laughed off the idea as the ludicrous notion it was. Armed with this new information, Hiccup dug his fingernails hard into Toothless’ scales where neck met shoulder, trying to mimic a bite. “Feel anything?” he asked Toothless, whose eyes were closed. 

*Not really* Toothless admitted. He was picturing Selena, but it wasn’t doing anything. Then Hiccup tried actually biting him, sinking blunt teeth into his scales. “How about now?” he asked hopefully. Toothless gave an impatient huff and shook his head. *It’s no good. You’ll just have to wait until the next time I need to mark my territory, you strange too-curious-for-your-own-good human.* 

Hiccup grinned sheepishly at him. “Okay, okay. But you’ve explored me plenty; now it’s my turn” he insisted, before clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. *We should stop. You’re exhausted* said Toothless, but Hiccup shook his head. “I’m fine, I’m not that tired. Come and lie down here. Please?” he begged, patting the bed.

Toothless climbed up onto the bed, winding up on half on his side with his back paws and tail dangling off. The wooden frame creaked ominously. Disregarding it, Hiccup curled up against the dragon. His soft fingers trailed over the dragon’s stomach, and Toothless purred contentedly. He’d never say no to a belly rub. “It’s so smooth” Hiccup murmured, tracing invisible patterns over the scales beneath his fingertips. “I mean, you’re smooth all over, except for your spines, but here on your stomach...it’s like vellum” he remarked.

*Like what?* 

“Vellum. High quality parchment; it’s made from the skin of farm animals we’ve slaughtered for meat, but on Berk we usually use older sheep. Vellum is lambskin or calfskin; Trader Johann gave me a book bound in vellum once, but I lost it when that Krogan creep and his flyers attacked the Edge and we had to blow up our hut.” 

*So you’re saying my belly feels like prey-skin. That’s a comforting thought* Toothless huffed sarcastically. Hiccup giggled, and he smiled.

“Well, it’s not quite the same” Hiccup amended. “Vellum’s softer. Your scales feel more like...like...” His brow furrowed, trying to remember. He was sure he’d felt something similar before, that wasn’t a dragon.

*Take your time, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.*

“Ha, ha. Wait, I know what it is! Your scales feel kinda like the skin of that dead shark the twins keep hauling around. More on the top, though; they’re smooth running head to tail, but not the other way round. I suppose that makes you more streamlined. On your underside the scales feel more like vellum. Only not as soft.”

*How do you even know what that dead shark feels like?*

Hiccup shrugged. “They kept pestering me to touch it. I like your scales, though. They feel nice” he murmured, voice slurred. Toothless crooned fondly. No matter what he might say, Hiccup _was_ tired. Stubborn human. His ministrations were making Toothless tired as well. He stretched a wing over his other half. *Time to sleep.* 

There was no protest this time. Hiccup curled up next to the dragon, head tucked beneath Toothless’ chin. He reached behind him and tugged one foreleg over himself to hug, fingers playing with the short claws, utterly fearless. Toothless adjusted himself so he wouldn’t accidentally crush Hiccup and purred as they both fell asleep.

* * *

Early that morning, Stoick was woken by a splintering crash and thump from up above him. It was coming from Hiccup’s room, which meant Something Was Up. Grunting in annoyance, Stoick heaved himself out of bed and went to investigate. He trudged up the stairs and made to push Hiccup’s door open; but it didn’t move. It was locked.

Scowling - damn him but that boy better not have wandered off again - Stoick went back down, tugged on warmer clothes and his boots, and headed outside. Grumbling to himself about troublesome offspring, he clambered up the ladder leaning against the side of Skull Crusher’s lean to, and onto its roof. From there he could see into his son’s room. He’d ignore the whole ‘invasion of privacy’ thing for now. 

It didn’t take long for Stoick to deduce the problem. Toothless had climbed right onto Hiccup’s bed, and the pair of them were curled up together, fast asleep. A deep sleep indeed, if they hadn’t been woken by the sound of the bed finally giving out under the dragon’s weight. Stoick shook his head, but he couldn’t bring himself to be too upset. 

Not when his sons were smiling like that.


End file.
